Top 5 Business Lessons We Can Learn from Celebrities:

In 2009, we saw the expansion of wars, the crumbling of the global economy and the ultimate dismantling of financial schemes decades in the making. What we also saw in 2009 was the financial decimation of many of Hollywood's celebrities including: Nicholas Cage, Lindsay Lohan, Lily Allen, Sinbad (remember him?), and Stephen Baldwin. What can we learn from these unfortunate celebrities will help us from ending up in their shoes.

1. Keep up on your taxes: the state and the federal government are both more than capable of taking everything from you with a moment's notice or at the very least placing a lien on your home so you can't ever sell it...even when you really need the money. Sinbad neglected to pay income taxes and the net result was a $2.5 million dollar lien on his California home imposed by the state. Wesley Snipes is currently in prison for tax evasion.

1. Don't buy more car than you need, as cars are never a winning investment. After a few DUIs, Lindsay Lohan was forced to sell her $200k Mercedes for just $111k within a year of buying it.

1. Keep a close eye on your apparel purchases or pay the consequences. Lindsay Lohan has made a habit of purchasing very expensive purses which end up being stolen due to their price tag and resale value.

1. Think twice about buying that second house, even if it looks like a great deal, as the long-term costs might be more than you anticipated. Countless celebrities have purchased multiple properties only to fall behind on taxes owed to foreign countries, let the properties go to waste, or neglect the properties increasing the costs to sell them exponentially.

1. Don't underestimate the toll business expenses can take on what appear to be a thriving business. Despite selling out her North American tour, Lady GaGa's over-the-top set and costly costumes have put her US tour in the hole $4 million dollars. This is especially troubling as most artists make their money on tours and not on music sales these days, due to sharing and piracy.

1. Be very careful what you claim as taxes or you might face consequences years later. Nicholas Cage is finding this out the hard way as the IRS determined that he wrongly wrote off $3.3 million in personal expenses from 2002 to 2004, including limos, meals, gifts, travel and his Gulfstream 1159A turbojet and has fined him $666,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest.

While many of these examples might seem a little out there and over the top, it should be realized that mismanaging business expenses, claiming illegitimate write-offs, buying unnecessary items and falling behind on tax payments can happen to anyone. By providing larger than life examples of how little mistakes can cost big money, it is my hope that you will now be better able to make wise and rationale business decisions.

Learn more about running a smarter business at: http://www.businessinsider.com/warroom